How Salve brought the World Cup to the subcontinent

Getting the World Cup to move anywhere from England was hardly likely to be like shifting a Ranji final from Mumbai to Delhi. There were objections galore—of history, legacy, lack of infrastructure and, not the least, lack of money. The last two mentioned were not hollow objections. While cricket was a craze in the subcontinent, facilities were primitive. Moreover, release of foreign exchange was the preserve of the government; and governments in the subcontinent were moribund in such matters.

To overcome the first problem, Salve hit on the brainwave of including Pakistan as co-host. The difficulty quotient of this hardly needs telling, but Salve found an ally in retired air marshal Nur Khan, then head of the Pakistan Cricket Board. Khan convinced president Zia-ul-Haq of the viability of the project, Salve prevailed upon Rajiv Gandhi and a major hurdle of having enough stadia was crossed. Getting money out of the two governments was not easy, but Salve had the Indian prime minister’s ear and strong connections with Indian business.